A Fantasy for Reality
by Akkiko
Summary: Heero always wondered if he should have lived, now that question has been answered without his choice. When Heero is shot he's landed in a world where he never existed and the world is upside down. Can he save the world he never lived in?
1. Default Chapter

I had an idea, except it was at 12.00 am, so I couldn't really type it out. I went over the whole thing in my mind, wondering what to put in it, what twists to do, I finished the story in my sleep! Literally!  
  
(Yeah, it's another GW fic. I'm obsessed. . . .)  
  
~ Intro. ~  
  
Heero stared at the wreckage. Flames burning everywhere.  
  
"No . . . ." He whispered. "No, no, no." He repeated softly over and over, his face frozen in terror.  
  
'I killed her. . . . .' He thought numbly. 'I killed that girl. How could I? After what she'd said to me? How could I?' He gripped the tiny yellow flower in his hand, the one that girl had given him only this afternoon. She was dead, so was her dog. And he'd done it. He'd done it all . . . . .  
  
(Not too descriptive there, for those wondering. This is the scene where Heero set of some bombs in a base, the base exploded, yada yada yada. Anyway this is that little memory Heero had while he was. . .er. . . *thinking* in the movie 'Gundam Wing Endless Waltz')  
  
~~~  
  
"Oops." Duo mumbled.  
  
"Duo. You have five seconds to run before I turn you into compost." Wufei said calmly, his eyebrow twitching.  
  
"It was an accident! I swear!" The pilot protested, but was nevertheless moving towards the door.  
  
"5!"  
  
"Wu-man, c'mon! It was only a rod of metal."  
  
"4!"  
  
"You're not serious, are you?"  
  
"3!"  
  
"Er. . . .are you going to kill me?"  
  
"2!"  
  
"Um . . ."  
  
"1!" Wufei chased after Duo who in turn bolted out of there. Heero sighed.  
  
"That's the SECOND time you've broken my sword!" Wufei yelled.  
  
"Third actually." Heero told Wufei.  
  
"You are NOT helping!" Duo shouted as he ran past Heero who sat on the couch, typing away at his laptop. Heero shrugged and Wufei and Duo ran out of the room. There only noise was the silent clicking of fingers tapping across the keyboard. The pilot was concentrating on his screen when something flashed across his vision.  
  
*Flames. Explosions.*  
  
The laptop fell out of Heero's lap and fell onto the floor with a dull thud. Heero had a face of shock and guilt plastered on him.  
  
"Get out, get out, get out!" He hissed harshly through gritted teeth, his head covered by his hands. "I get the point! I screwed up and it cost lives!"  
  
"Heero? Who are you talking to?" Trowa asked, his voice floating through the door. Heero jumped as though he'd received a large electric bolt.  
  
"No one." He replied hastily. Trowa frowned, but walked out commenting to him.  
  
"Okay, but you've been so jumpy lately, whatever's on your mind must really be making you nervous." Heero stared, nervous? You could say that, in fact Heero was expecting a lightening bolt to strike him down any minute now for that mistake.  
  
'Stop that.' He though mentally, this was getting ridiculous. But that unspoken threat, that feeling still loomed in the air.  
  
'I wish I'd never existed.'  
  
~~~  
  
"Relena! Slow down!" Heero exclaimed as she dragged him along the cobbles street. Duo chuckled, a small bruise on his arm was a souvenir from Wufei who glowered at Duo.  
  
"I paid for the repair alright! Stop giving me that death glare!" The braided boy complained. Wufei sighed, then pulled his now newly polished sword out of its sheath and smiled at the way it shimmered with that new coat of polish. Duo sighed.  
  
"They'll be announcing their marriage any day now." Duo whispered to the others with a wink. They sniggered.  
  
"I heard that."  
  
"ERK!"  
  
Heero laughed as Duo ran off being chased by Wufei yet again. Then he felt something at the back of his neck. Senses he hadn't used in years blared to life. He whipped around in the street. Relena let go of his arm hurriedly.  
  
"What is it Hee-?" Her voice was cut off by a large crack. Suddenly she screamed as Heero jerked back, the pilot was pushed back onto the wall of a building by the force of the bullet. Slowly he brought a hand up to touch a spot on his chest, and he drew it away. Red stained his fingers. He stared at the others, completely in shock. Another crack, another bolt of searing pain he jerked away.  
  
"Heero!" Duo yelled out shocked. He was slowly falling, leaning against the wall he dropped to his knees.  
  
"Heero. . ." Relena whispered out running to catch him. She held him quietly holding his head on her lap tears were dropping off her face. His eyes were slowly closing, the last thing he saw was Wufei slashing the attacker with the back of his sword, Duo looking like he was the one who was dying, Quatra was trying frantically to stop the blood by pressing his vest over Heero's bleeding chest.  
  
"Bastard!" Trowa yelled staring at the unconscious body of the attacker. He spat on his chest and ran over to look at Heero.  
  
"Come one Heero. Stay with us." Duo whispered harshly.  
  
"I think that bullet severed a vain, either that the heart. Either way . . ." Quatra mumbled.  
  
"No . . . ." Relena whispered in horror. Heero didn't hear the rest. His eyes closed, pain was fading away. In the next minute, he was gone.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. 


	2. In a world without Sanity

Chapter 1  
  
Suddenly everything was bright. Too bright in Heero's mind. Slowly the youth opened his eyes blearily. He didn't understand, it was dark. Looked like nighttime, he slowly stood up, it wasn't easy. He felt like he'd been kicked in the ribs. He was standing right where he had been before he was shot. That didn't make sense, why was had he just been sleeping there? He shifted his jacket around him and stared around him. Where the heck was that idiot Duo, and the others? He glanced once more around him and walked off. Suddenly he noticed something odd, since when were there armed soldiers marching the streets? And why were they all wearing. . . . . .OZ uniforms?!?! He stared at a passing group of uniformed teenagers and kept staring in surprise. He stopped for a few minutes to stare at a large TV which was posted onto one of the buildings.  
  
*And in later news. A rebel leader was caught earlier today in downtown.*  
  
The screen flashed a picture of the rebel leader. Heero gaped, civilians who were still out cheered around him. He couldn't believe it. Since when was HILDE a rebel leader?! And what exactly was she rebelling against? He turned away sharply and bumped right into someone, both youths fell over in a tumbled heap.  
  
"Watch where you're going!" Both shouted at the same time. Heero's vision finally cleared and when he saw who it was, he gaped again.  
  
"Wufei?" He whispered. The youth glared at him.  
  
"Watch your tongue subordinate." Wufei snapped. He was covered from top to bottom in the OZ uniform.  
  
"Er. . . .Yes sir. Sorry sir." Heero said quickly, his mind speedily working out the reality in this world.  
  
"You'd better be." The black haired youth sneered stood up, brushed himself off and was about to walk away when he suddenly glanced at Heero, sighing, his eyes flashed with an emotion he didn't recognize, and he thrust our a hand towards Heero. He gave a scowl when Heero didn't take the hand.  
  
"You going to sit there all day?" He demanded. Heero glared, then took the hand, Wufei hauled him to his feet while Heero gave a tiny thanks. After that Wufei tramped off shaking his head leaving a very stunned Heero. Who in turn asked aloud;  
  
"What the HELL is going on?!"  
  
~~~  
  
After watching the news for several more minutes, Heero could basically figure out what was going on with all his friends. Duo was in prison, many claimed he was a terrorist. Quatra had gone berserk after the colonies had betrayed him and killed his father. Trowa was in the worst situation, he was used as a test rat in a training base, a prisoner as well. Wufei was a general in the military. Relena was only a puppet for OZ, Zechs and Noin had vanished. Sally was a rebel like Hilde, Une had vanished, this was just a reality where nothing made sense. However, it was all like a dream, or a nightmare. It was a completely awkward world where nothing was following the rules of logic, but you knew what to do anyway. So as I just said, Heero knew exactly what to do. First he had to get on the inside for more information.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero was walking along the sidewalk, for some reason people were gathering along the sidewalks, most had things like towels, or sitting mats with them. A lot seemed excited.  
  
"S'cuse me, but is there some event going on?" Heero asked a passing woman who was dragging a child which looked like her 10 year old son.  
  
"Don't you know anything boy?!" She demanded incredulously, he stiffened in shock and anger. She however didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Anyway, this is the day the parade takes place."  
  
"What parade?" She stared.  
  
"Where you born in a cave boy?! The parade that celebrates the day those miserable peace breakers, the Gundam Pilots were finally defeated!" She said triumphantly and walked away still cackling. Heero stared at her in disgust when cheering erupted in his ears. He looked wildly around and saw the cause of the cheering, although he almost wish he hadn't. Duo, looking rather beaten and bruised walked along the street surrounded by at least five soldiers. His arms were clamped together by a rather thick handcuffs.  
  
"Duo?" Heero whispered in disbelief. Every fiber of him wanted to run out there into the street and kill those guards, then he would break the handcuffs and help Duo run for it. Yet doing that would be impossible, with so many people around, the chances of them both escaping were very narrow. People began to throw things at him, eggs, rotted fruit and the like. A truck progressed behind Duo and the soldiers around him. Then things went overboard. A child at the sidewalk blundered out in an attempt to kick Duo in the shin and tripped right in front of the truck. The driver couldn't see the child and was about to run the boy over. A woman screeched, people gasped. Duo looked behind him and registered the situation in a flash, he bolted right through the ring of soldiers and dived in for the child, grabbing the child safely in his arms, the pilot rolled over to the side just as the truck rolled by.  
  
"Hey!" The soldiers yelled.  
  
"Please don't hurt him! Please!" The mother screamed. Heero knew what was going on in Duo's head. Keep the child, he had a chance to get out, he had a hostage. But on the other hand, getting a child involved. . . . .  
  
"C'mon Duo, THINK!" Heero hissed through gritted teeth. Duo sighed, walked up to the pavement and handed the squalling child to the woman. Heero gave out a sigh, he wasn't sure if that was a smart move or not. The woman took the child and stared at Duo as though she'd just seen the end of the world. Duo nodded his head, a small smile on his lips, that was before the gun butt crashed down on his head. It flattened him to the ground.  
  
"Don't ever touch a civilian again you terrorist!" The soldier who had crashed his gun down screamed. Fury building in his chest Heero walked up to the soldier and did what his heart told him. Not his head. He punched the man in the chin. The soldier doubled back and stared at Heero wildly. Silence was now in play, Heero stooped and pulled Duo up by the arm. Duo looked at him and gave a tiny thanks, and another weak smile.  
  
"You okay?" Heero asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What are you doing?! Don't you know who he is?!" A man called out.  
  
"I know what he REALLY IS!" Heero yelled to the now listening crowd.  
  
"You people are all so blind! You didn't even know what happened in his life and you condemn him!" Heero was screaming now, his anger and fury filling his words.  
  
"You've all been blinded by OZ, I can only imagine what dolts you are." He declared rather loudly, then he hoisted Duo's arm over his shoulder and held him up with a worried glance. Duo however was looking rather confused.  
  
"He IS a terrorist!" A voice yelled.  
  
"Oh really?! Then why did he hand over that baby?!" Heero demanded. "Any terrorist would have kept the child as a hostage, a way to get out."  
  
"He knew he'd never get out." The soldier said looking rather angry.  
  
"Right. That's exactly how he broke through that ring you formed around him to save the child. Haven't you figured it out yet you morons? He could escape anytime he wanted."  
  
"Then why didn't he?!" Another soldier demanded.  
  
"Because. . . . ." Heero looked at Duo in the eye, he saw the reason, it was the same reason Heero had felt ever since the colonies had betrayed them.  
  
"Because he no longer has a reason to live, he no longer has a reason to fight." Heero finished.  
  
"What nonsense are you trying to pass off?!"  
  
"It's not, being a Gundam Pilot means you were trained to protect the colonies, when they turn against you, you lose your reason to fight. Therefore you give up hope trying to live."  
  
"You really know how we think don't you?" Duo mumbled, but everyone was so quiet that all the people heard him anyway. Duo chuckled. "That's exactly what I thought when we were betrayed, then when I was captured. I got a new feeling for the colonies." Silence. "Wanna know what it is? It was pity." Duo gave a sharp laugh, his voice hoarse, as though he wasn't used to using it anymore.  
  
"You're all in OZ's pocket, following them blindly, I just pitied you because you were all so desperate. Oh well, if it brings peace, then who am I to fight? My mission was to acquire world peace. Guess I wasn't needed anyway. In fact, why don't someone do me a favor and shoot me?" Duo wasn't smiling now, quite the opposite, he was crying.  
  
"Just shoot me! I don't care! I don't want to live! I'm sure Quatra and Trowa feel the same way! Wufei, well I don't know, the stinking traitor." Duo trailed off now, it seemed that if Heero didn't do something, the former pilot was going to go into hysterics.  
  
"You mean you don't want to live?" A woman breathed.  
  
"I never wanted to live, hey why not! It's a holiday! Why not celebrate with the sappy story of Duo Maxwell, Gundam Pilot and Peace breaker. Let's see, where to begin? Oh! I know!" Duo now seemed to have lost all sanity.  
  
"Duo, no! You never wanted to talk about this, I don't think you want to start n-" Heero was cut off as Duo began to tell the crowd, the cameras the whole world about their story.  
  
~~~  
  
"It all began when I was five. My parents died in that the war, so I was stuck on the streets. I took refuge in the Maxwell church. Sound familiar? Yeah, that's my last name. So there I met two people who worked in the church, Helen and Jonathan. The priest and the nun." Duo chuckled at a hidden joke. "Then I met with some of the children at the church too, they were orphans, learning so that they could join the priesthood. Heh, Max and Sarah. Well that's when I was rather untrustful, didn't care about anyone. But they got to me. And just as I let my defenses down and got friendly, they died. Yep, that war killed them. Almost killed me too, cept this doctor comes by, white coat, weird hair. Like a mushroom. So he takes me with him, helps me recover, well now what? He's the type that would never do anything for free, trains me, tinkers with my blood. Yep, that's right." Duo commented to the shocked faces of the crowd. "I'm a living freak, so now I'm an enhanced being, special blood and all, so that's just about then I wished that war had killed me. I wouldn't have been a tool in the war. Hey now wasn't I right? My life is a trashy soap opera!" He laughed outright at this. Heero sighed, and helped him stand.  
  
"C'mon, I think that's enough story telling for now." he muttered, cobalt eyes blazing, this was nothing new to him, in his world, Quatra, Trowa, and Wufei all new this story. They never brought it up though, it would hurt Duo too much.  
  
"Oh no, it gets better!" Duo giggled with a smirk, now he was acting like he was drunk. "Next is the great part. Well you know I became a pilot right? Well guess what? Quatra wasn't too happy. We fought the army, on the colonies orders of course, then guess what?! OZ joins up with the colonies, well now we're screwed!" Duo laughed again. "The colonies killed Quatra's dad, Quatra freaked and went berserk. Trowa risked his life to save Quatra, got captured. Wufei was talked into becoming a general. For what? Handing me in of course. So we fought, I lost, tried to run for it, he tracked me down, we fought with hands. Well the bastard and his stupid sword got the best of me." He showed them a long scar on his right arm.  
  
"So now I'm in jail, Trowa is a lab rat, and Quatra is hiding somewhere in the middle of nowhere plotting to kill the OZ general. So we've heard my story. Let's hear yours!" He turned to face Heero.  
  
"Who are you and how do you know what we think?" Duo still smiled.  
  
"It's official, you've lost it." Heero grumbled and let the teenager stand on his own.  
  
"So who are you? How do you know me?" Duo asked now standing upright.  
  
"I'm . . . . . ." Heero trailed off, wondering what would be the best way to break this to them. Then he decided.  
  
"I'm the fifth Gundam pilot."  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. 


	3. Duo in hiding

Chapter 3  
  
"Quit fooling." Duo said happily. Apparently he didn't believe Heero when he said he was a Gundam Pilot.  
  
"I'm not. I'm the pilot. . . . . that . . . . . . that never existed." Heero finished and hoisted Duo up again. No one was talking.  
  
"Stop playing around." A man yelled angrily.  
  
"I'm not, the doctor's who trained us was thinking of making a 5th pilot." Heero replied making up a story. "I was supposed to be that pilot, however they didn't think they'd need a fifth pilot out there wrecking havoc. So, my training plan was killed and I was tossed back onto the street to rot." He helped Duo stand on his own. He didn't think he needed to add anymore fuel to the fire right now. Duo stood uneasily and wavered for a moment before standing still. Heero nodded and pulled something out of his jeans pocket. It was a lock pick, he made quick work of the cuffs and let them drop to the ground, that's when the soldiers began to react.  
  
"Hey!" One yelled out and reached a hand out, Heero's eyes flashed and in a minute the soldier had his arm twisted behind his back.  
  
"One move and your arm breaks, understood?" Heero hissed in the soldier's ear. "Duo, I understand that you're in pain, but you have to snap out of it, what would Hilde say if she could see you now?" Duo stiffened.  
  
"Hilde. . . . . ."  
  
"C'mon Duo, think, she needs you and you're feeling sorry for yourself." Heero snapped as he let the soldier go and threw the older man to the ground. "Stop being a coward."  
  
"I'm not! If you could have been there, you'd lose hope too." Duo retorted, anger working it's way through his system.  
  
"I WAS there you moron. I know how it feels to lose hope, believe it or not I had front row seats to when Quatra lost it. I was there when the Vay-8 exploded. I saw everything." Heero finished his sentence. "Stop being a coward Duo." Heero hissed. Duo fumed, stepped up to Heero and decked him in the face. Silence. Heero turned his head back to Duo, a small bruise on his face. Duo took a step back looking slightly surprised. Heero was smiling.  
  
"Welcome back." Heero whispered. Duo stared, then grinned. "You told me in . . . . in another time that the reason you fight is to see the universe in peace. You wanted to see a time when there was no war to pollute it, no people ruling the earth, no colonies and disputes, you told me that was your ideal vision of the future. If you try it can come true Duo." Heero declared still grinning. Duo was still, then smiled.  
  
"Well you obviously know me well, you're right, that was my ideal vision. No more war sounds like a dream. I think I've found my motive to fight again." Duo declared with a grin. Heero nodded, no one was sure what happened next, in a flash about half the soldiers were down and Heero and Duo were making their way through the crowd. The odd thing was though, no one seemed to be stopping them, everyone was parting to make way for them, but they were stopping the OZ soldiers. Heero smiled.  
  
"Thanks!" He yelled over his shoulder and ran on, it was surprising that Duo could run so fast after so many years of being cooped up in a cell. Heero had a feeling everything was going to be fine.  
  
~~~  
  
"So where to now?" Duo asked as the crouched low in an alley way.  
  
"Sewers." Heero replied still looking over the corner for any signs of soldiers.  
  
"S'cuse me?"  
  
"We're heading for the location of the Rebel base." Heero replied.  
  
"And you know where that is." Duo said sounding somewhat unconvinced.  
  
"I got a guess. If that's not the rebel base then it's an OZ base and we'll be captured." Heero said still looking.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"SSSSSHHHHHHH!" Heero hissed spinning around. "Okay, it's all clear. Let's go." He stood up and walked over to a manhole.  
  
"Oh man, this is going to stink." Duo muttered as Heero moved the lid. First the Japanese boy dropped in, then Duo who decided to climb down on the ladder, and he closed the manhole. It was lighted by an electrical system as Duo dropped down next to Heero who waited patiently. Stuffing his hands in his pockets Heero trudged down the sopping wet cement. Duo was carefully sniffing the air, it was actually clean.  
  
"Say buddy? You never told me your name." Duo remarked as they walked along the tunnel.  
  
"It's Heero. Heero Yuy."  
  
"WHAT?! He was assassinated on 165 A .C. You can't be him!"  
  
"It was a code name, for when I was supposed to become a pilot, obviously in this reality I never did."  
  
"You keep saying THIS reality, what is that supposed to mean?" Heero stopped suddenly causing Duo to crash his nose into the back of the youth's jacket.  
  
"I'm not from this world, or at least, not this version." Heero replied, straight faced. Duo was staring.  
  
"Meaning?"  
  
"That world I come from, the war stopped over a year ago, peace went throughout the entire earth and the colonies. Relena was crowned Queen Relena and OZ died out, so did Treize. In the end peace was everywhere, you never went to prison, Quatra DID go berserk but me and Trowa got him to come back to his senses. Wufei also went over to OZ's side, but we got him back. The people were happy, and the last thing I remember is. . . . . . ."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Being shot. Then I wake up here." Heero said firmly. "And everything is flipped upside down." Duo gaped, it must have been a lot to take in.  
  
"So you're saying that there's another world like this but COMPLETELY opposite?!" Heero nodded.  
  
"HOLY CRAP!" Duo yelled. In that instant there was a few gun clicks and they were surrounded.  
  
"Oops. . ." Duo gulped, Heero was unmoved.  
  
"Is Sally Po among you?" The youth instead asked.  
  
"Maybe, what's it to you?" A cold voice demanded.  
  
"I need to talk to her. It's about Trowa, Quatra, and Wufei."  
  
~~~  
  
Heero and Duo now sat in chairs with their hands tied behind their backs. Sally came into the room.  
  
"What do you want and how did you find us?" Duo was about to give reply when Heero cut in.  
  
"I remembered this place when we were forced to hide down here to escape persecution by OZ."  
  
"We?"  
  
"The Gundam Pilots." Heero replied instantly. Sally became alert at that word 'Gundam' she looked at Duo and stiffened.  
  
"You're Duo Maxwell, the pilot of Deathsythe!"  
  
"Thanks for noticing." Duo said grinning.  
  
"How'd did you escape?!"  
  
"With a little help from him." Duo said tilting his head at Heero who shrugged. Sally was shocked.  
  
"But we tried for years to get Duo out of that cell and you could do it in a day? You'd have to be a Gundam Pilot to do that!" She whispered in awe.  
  
"I am."  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"I am a Gundam Pilot. I know it sounds crazy, and I'm not exactly a superstitious person either, so whether you believe me or not is not up to me." Heero said in a monotone. Sally was gaping.  
  
"Now I understand that one of your leaders. Hilde I believe her name is?" Sally nodded. Heero smiled and stood up, the ropes that had tied his hands was now sitting in a heap on the ground. "I'm going to try and get her out of the jail. But I need to know where she is. Also we need to find the other pilots, we're going to need all the help we can get." Heero finished. Sally was gaping.  
  
"How did you-?" She trailed off.  
  
"You slowly break one string at a time off the rope and it weakens until you can break it." Heero answered. Duo was staring, his expression was somewhat annoyed.  
  
"What the heck do we need help for?!" He demanded. Heero smiled. "We need help, because we're going to take down OZ. I'm going to make sure this world turns out the way it was supposed to."  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Only plot. The characters and whatever belong to sunrise.  
  
Starlet: Well that was short. How you liking the story so far? Well, I hope you like it. OR ELSE THERE'S NO POINT IN ME WRITING IT!! WWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHH!! Okay. Creeping everyone out now eh? Lol. Next Chapter out soon. 


	4. Hilde

Chapter 4  
  
Sally was staring.  
  
"You want to take down OZ . . . . right now?!" She squeaked. Heero nodded.  
  
"Don't gape Sally, it isn't you." He commented smiling. Sally gulped.  
  
"You're JOKING?!" Duo sighed.  
  
"Something tells me that this guy isn't someone who jokes too much." The pilot murmured. Heero snorted.  
  
"Right, do you have Hilde's cell locations?"  
  
"No, she was only captured last night, so they had her in one cell, but she won't have a cell much longer, she's being executed today." Sally gulped. "By Lieutenant Wufei C." Heero and Duo shared a paled glance.  
  
~~~  
  
"C. S. H. D. In position." The youth hissed into a tiny microphone. "It's show-time."  
  
"Roger that." Came the unanimous reply. The teen smirked, pulled his cap over his head, and drove down the street towards the OZ base in an OZ truck. Stopping outside, the teen looked up.  
  
"Hey, open the door already!" Heero in an OZ uniform yelled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We caught the Gundam Pilot!" Heero called back. An OZ man came to the truck and opened the back door. Sure enough, there was Duo, seemingly unconscious. Two more guards were next to him, holding their guns at him.  
  
"Will you hurry it up?!" Demanded at blonde wavy haired girl, her accomplice nodded.  
  
"We can only do this for so long." The boy yelled, his hair tucked beneath his cap, deep blue eyes impatient. His voice was somewhat flat and he looked in his mid twenties. The OZ guard yanked Duo's head up by his braid to examine him, nodding his satisfaction, he let Duo's head drop with a thunk.  
  
"Okay." He waved to the guard in the tower who opened the metal doors. Heero nodded his thanks and drove on. Once inside the gates, he parked outside a cell and opened his door, going to the back, he opened the doors and smiled.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"You bet." Catherine replied back.  
  
"Roger." Sally commented.  
  
"No prob." Duo said tilting back his OZ uniform cap. Heero nodded grinning.  
  
"Then let's get to work. Sally, you come with me. Catherine's with Duo, I need you two to create a diversion, understood?"  
  
"No prob." Heero glared at the Duo whose eyes held a mischievous gleam.  
  
"Nothing serious, we don't need the public chasing after us again. I started the crack through OZ's illusion, now we have to keep it going. No mischief, NONE!" He suddenly commanded loudly as Duo rolled his eyes. Duo backed off.  
  
"Okay Hee-chan, whatever you say!" He said sarcastically. Heero blinked.  
  
"What did you call me?"  
  
"Hee-chan . . . is that okay?" Duo asked backing off thinking that the teen was going to snap at him. Heero blinked, then shook his head.  
  
"Baka. Alright, this plan is practically fool proof. Now let's get going." Heero and the gang nodded, then split up.  
  
~~~  
  
Heero walked calmly, Sally following, disguised as a boy.  
  
"How do you know where it is?" Heero smirked.  
  
"Follow the camera chords, if you can't follow that, then follow the muddy steps. Military officers would never let their shoes get dirty, why? Because it's either they'll get in trouble with superiors, or they hate to tarnish their lovely little stuck up suits." Sally nodded.  
  
"Right. By the way, since you're wearing that outfit, I guess I should be saying 'yessir'." Heero smirked, she had good instincts. Stepping into the court yard, just as predicted, there was Hilde, and the sight wasn't pretty. Her hands were tied behind her with the metal shackles, bruises marked her skin. She'd seen better days, definitely. Heero scowled, where was that Baka and his diver-  
  
BANG!!  
  
The entire floor shook. Heero stumbled and caught Sally as she pitched forward, as the ground straightened, a soldier ran to the door.  
  
"Sir! Come quick, some rookie soldier accidentally set off a flame-thrower in the explosive rooms! The entire center's going to blow!"  
  
"What?! What is his description?!"  
  
"Long brown hair, obviously new since he hasn't gotten a haircut, amethyst eyes and had an accomplice with blonde hair!"  
  
"Then set the signal! Evacuate! Let the rebel burn in this heap! Where's Lieutenant Chang?!"  
  
"Not here sir, he canceled at the last moment saying he didn't want to bother with this."  
  
"Thank heaven for that small blessing, at least we won't have him on our tales about this. Now move! Evacuate!" All the soldiers cleared the room, that is, except for Heero and Sally. Heero dashed forward.  
  
"Quick! If what they said is true and this center is going up in flames, then we need to get out fast!" Sally scowled while pulling the blindfold of her friend's head.  
  
"I thought you said this plan was fool proof!" Sally insulted.  
  
"It IS fool proof! It's just not DUO proof!" Heero yelled back, he could feel the flames beneath his shoes even now. Hilde blinked her eyes open.  
  
"Who-?"  
  
"No time. We have to get out of here NOW!" Heero cried finally getting the shackles undone. Wrenching her onto his back, she threw her arms around his neck while he hoisted her up in piggy-back style.  
  
"Let's go." He said with a nod to Sally, they both ran out.  
  
"S! H! Where are you?!" Duo's voice cracked over the intercom.  
  
"Third level, on our way out!"  
  
"SHIT! The first and second level are already sprouting flames! You'll never get out that way!" Heero swore, and Sally paled.  
  
"Then how do we get out?"  
  
"Questions later!" Heero snapped and started running up the stairs. Sally swore herself and started upwards. Hilde was struggling into wakefulness. But rising smoke and heat were not helping. Heero felt her grip loosen and panicked.  
  
"Stay awake Hilde! Duo's waiting for you!!" Hilde snapped to life.  
  
"D-Duo?!" She croaked. Heero ran up another flight of stairs.  
  
"Yeah, he's waiting! So don't you DARE die!" He spun around the corner and ran up yet another flight.  
  
"There's the door!" Sally cried, they both burst through to land on the roof. Hilde got onto her own feet.  
  
"I'm good." She said shakily. Heero looked around, not good. There was no way down unless they jumped, and he had a feeling that he would be the only one surviving. He didn't like those odds. He peered over the edge and his eyes narrowed slightly. Duo and Catherine with her blonde wig were waiting by the door anxiously. Heero snapped his gaze up to look around again, before he realized Sally and Hilde were gazing at him.  
  
"It was good plan, but just not good enough." Hilde whispered. Sally nodded. Heero shook his head.  
  
"No, there must be a way out of this!" Suddenly flames broke through the open door. Heero swore. This was it, he had to find a way out NOW! Suddenly, the air whipped to life around them, Heero heard a faint hum, looking up, he already knew what he'd see. A helicopter. And there was a man leaning out the side of the door.  
  
"Jump in!" Wufei screamed. Heero wasted no time, grabbing Hilde, he threw her over the jump first, then grabbed Sally's arm.  
  
"Hey! I can go myself thank you very much!" She said and jumped across the gap. Heero nodded, he was about to jump, when something caught his eye on the adjacent building. It was the man, the cloaked man who had shot him. Heero's stepping faltered, then he realized all too late that the floor was crumbling beneath him. And he was dropped into eternal flame.  
  
~~~  
  
"The cloak . . . . . there was no one. It was empty" Heero struggled to translate the voices and verify them.  
  
" How is that possible?"  
  
"We don't know. But he's still alive, that's all we know."  
  
"Heero . . ."  
  
~~~  
  
Heero woke up in the middle of the street, but this time, there were faces to greet him.  
  
"S-Sally?!" He croaked, his throat very dry. Sally gave him some water.  
  
"Drink." She ordered. He gulped it down, choked, then gulped some more. Sally approved. Turning to Hilde she embraced her friend.  
  
"Lord I was scared." Duo slapped Heero on the back, making him choke on water.  
  
"I wasn't! I knew you'd make it out okay!" He said.  
  
"Yeah, and that's why he has no nails left and a piece of them is stuck between his teeth!" Catherine teased. Heero looked at them from the corner of his eye, and indeed there was a piece missing. He chuckled. Hilde suddenly appeared to Heero's left and embraced Duo roughly.  
  
"Duo!"  
  
"Hilde! God, don't EVER do that again! I was scared to death!"  
  
"If the touching reunion is all done and over with, I'd like to get to business." Heero stood and handed the cup to Sally with a nod of thanks, then turned to face Wufei.  
  
"What would you like to know?" Heero asked calmly. Wufei smiled.  
  
"Who you are."  
  
"I have no name, my codename is Heero Yuy." Wufei nodded.  
  
"Odd, but alright. I'll let you go free. Including the girl over there. No strings." He said gesturing towards Hilde. Duo scowled immediately.  
  
"And what's the catch?" Catherine demanded. Wufei grinned.  
  
"I get to join you."  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own, only plot and yada, yada. 


End file.
